Council contemplates Mtn. Green pathway

The Morgan County Council would like to pursue development of a trail between Cottonwood Canyon Road and Old Farm Market Sinclair convenience store in Mountain Green.

“It is very, very unsafe for bikers and joggers on that road,” said County Councilman Lyle Nelson.

Councilwoman Tina Kelley said she has heard from Mountain Green residents of the Cottonwood Subdivision who say there is no safe way for their children to walk or ride their bikes to activities at the Kent Smith Park.

“I understand the need for it,” Councilman Austin Turner said.

Nelson said the path could be funded with impact fees. He plans to contact Lewis Young Robertson and Burningham, Inc., an independent municipal securities firm that has contracted with the county in the past on their capital facilities plan. Nelson hopes to get an estimate for how much the path would cost.

This and other hoped-for projects have convinced the council they should update their capital facilities plan, a list of capital improvements the county would like to pursue using impact fees paid by new growth.

Many say the current capital facilities plan is outdated and unrealistic.

“You need to re-do the capital facility plan,” said resident Debbie Sessions. “At this moment you are collecting more and more you don’t know how you are going to spend. You need to do the study. Don’t just keep collecting money and scrambling to spend it before the deadline comes.”

She said the current capital facilities plan calls for construction of community parks in Peterson and Porterville, both with $800,000 price tags, as well as a $3.4 million community pool.

“We really need to assess our capital facilities plan,” Nelson said.

The council unanimously agreed.

Nelson forsees the path being used by walkers and bikers alike, but Morgan County Senior Planner Bill Cobabe said the council must be careful in how it labels the path. If they officially call it a bike path, they must stripe it and install appropriate signage, which can increase the cost significantly.

“If you want to save some expense, just call it a sidewalk,” he said.

Kelley said the county’s current public works director has a lot of park experience and would be able to advise the county on establishing the path. Councilman Ned Mecham said the county’s contracted engineer is currently chairman of Weber Pathways, experience that could also benefit Morgan County.

Councilman Robert Kilmer said the county should consider other surfaces such as asphalt or even road base, whatever would be require less maintenance for the county.